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Topic: Question on finger picks |
Dave Wright
From:
Lathrop, Mo
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Posted 29 Sep 2007 6:55 am |
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Ok, I am still in the rookie stages of playing the PSG. I have tryed over and over again using the finger picks, and just can't do it. It really is ticking me off. My question is, Does it really matter if you use them or not? And is this another one of those preference things..Thanks To All
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SD-10 Carter 4&5, Fender Steel King |
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A. Roncetti
From:
Toronto,Ontario, Canada
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Posted 29 Sep 2007 7:56 am
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| Keep at it and you will get use to them. Soon you'll hate playing with out them. IMO the tone is much better with them. Clearer,louder more crisp sounding. That's just my 2ยข |
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Eric West
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 29 Sep 2007 8:22 am
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Others with more time, and certainly a personal instructor are your best bet, but until then, a tip:
Try to 'clamp' them firmly on your fingertips and use them as extensions of your fingers rather than loose 'fingertip covers'. It takes a little doing, but you might find yourself "getting the idea" of them and their use a little better. This tendS to help you pick 'up' rather than down, and within a very short period, you'll find that it's much easier to articulate.
Finding an actual live player that you can watch will help immensely. It's a very difficult instrument to be self taught.
Many don't use them, but it's best to personally watch and interact with them too. Similar difficulties with either method. Mainly with clear articulation and blocking.
Just a thought or two on my way out for he day.
EJL |
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robert kramer
From:
Nashville TN
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Posted 29 Sep 2007 8:46 am
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| Dave, A tip from banjo player Sonny Osborne is to wear your finger picks when your not playing so your fingers can get used to them. I keep a spare set of fingerpicks in the car and wear them on the way to gigs. |
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Phil Halton
From:
Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 29 Sep 2007 11:45 am Re: Question on finger picks
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Hi Dave,
I'm also quite new to PSG, but I've been wearing fingerpicks for 30 years or so (5-string banjo). I can tell you that they're worn differently for the PSG than the banjo because of the angle of attack inherent in palm blocking. Jeff Newman goes into great detail on exactly how to wear and use the darn things in his beginner videos--especially the "right hand alpha" video which I recommend highly for learning to palm block.
I use National fingerpicks and wear them so that there's considerable blade extending out from the fingertip, but not so much that they feel wobbly and about to fall off. This is Newman's recommendation and you really need that extended blade because you use the edge of the pick instead of the tip and the extended blade makes that possible without getting the pick wrap hung up in the strings. Buy several sets of Nationals (the newly re-issued ones made with a heavy gauge metal) because you'll be bending them up alot at first to find just the right shape and you may make a mess of the first one or two sets.
Before you give up on fingerpicks, or tear your hair out, get the "right hand alpha" video" from jeffran music. If you're patient, and follow his instruction, you'll get the hang of it in no time.
Jeffran music makes and sells their own brand of fingerpicks which are pre-bent to shape, but I didn't like them much. Also, the metal is brittle and its easy to snap off the wrap by bending it too much. Also, the shape wasn't to my liking. It extends out straight from the fingertip before curving up, and I prefer it to curve directly off the fingertip without the straight section, but that's just personal preference and may not apply to you. The last knock I have on Jeffran picks is the cost--nationals are better in my view for half the price ($2.50 per set VS $5.00 per set of Jeffran picks).
For the thumb, I use the GoldenGate thumbpicks and they are the best I've found. For what its worth, I've tried every thumb and/or fingerpick ever marketed in 30 years of banjo picking and these (National and GoldenGate) are what I've settled on.
Good Luck
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Disclaimer! I make no warranty on the manure I've been spreadin' around here. |
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